Warren Gatland is the right man to lead the British and Irish Lions on their 2017 tour to New Zealand and the Wales coach will have the best squad available to him for a ‘number of years’.

That is the belief of Lions legend Sir Ian McGeechan just days ahead of Gatland’s appointment being rubber-stamped for the three-Test series with the back-to-back world champions next summer.

McGeechan has written his name in Lions folklore, twice touring as a player while having four spells as head coach, with the 2009 trip to South Africa seeing Gatland become one of his trusted lieutenants.

Gatland went on to coach the 2013 Lions on their triumphant 2013 Test series win over the Wallabies.

And McGeechan believes keeping the two-time Welsh Grand Slam-winning mastermind at the helm this time around can challenge Steve Hansen’s all-conquering All Blacks as the best of British and Irish rugby seek only their second Test series win in the land of the long white cloud after the legends of 1971 under Welsh supremo Carwyn James.

Lions coaches Ian McGeechan and Warren Gatland during the 2009 Test series in South Africa

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, McGeechan said: “He (Gatland) will be named as the head coach on Wednesday and I think he is undoubtedly the right man for the job. He is a New Zealander who understands New Zealand rugby, especially what it means to play against the Lions, but he has also been a part of British rugby for a long time now.

“He truly understands what the Lions means and has enormous respect for the concept. I remember when I was head coach in South Africa in 2009 and he was an assistant coach, and I asked him to speak to the team before one of the early provincial games. He said no. He said he had not earned the right to do that at that stage. It showed great respect.

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“The other thing he said to me on that tour that has stuck with me was that he thought it was the first time he had seen a group of players who look at the jersey in the same way as a New Zealander looks at the All Black jersey. It told me that Gatland really has that understanding of the Lions jersey, and it is so important that you can then transfer that to the players.

“If he gets that in their hearts, their heads and their souls then the Lions have a great chance of doing well.

“I really think they can prosper, despite New Zealand being so good at the moment.”

And with Gatland able to call on England players currently riding on the crest of a wave following up the 2016 Six Nations Championship Grand Slam by this summer securing a first 3-0 series win by a touring side in Australia since South Africa in 1971, McGeechan believes the Lions squad in 2017 could be in the best shape for a number of tours.

And despite critics pointing to a tough 10-game schedule and very limited preparation time given the Aviva Premiership and Guinness Pro12 finals come a week before their first game Down Under against the Provincial Union, in Whangarei, McGeechan is adamant the Lions can mount a serious challenge next summer.

“Gatland will have some tremendous players at his disposal. I actually think it could the strongest group of Lions for a good number of years, and if they can have a real clarity of thinking in their game plan they can challenge New Zealand,” he added.

“All this talk about the players being smashed because they have to play 10 games is misleading. Not every player will play in every game. What is important is that Gatland goes with a squad of 35 and that all 35 players have started in the first four games.

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“I think he will have the confidence and nous to know that he can play around with those early games. It is about ensuring that the game he wants to play in the first Test is taking shape in those matches. If they lose the odd game it will not matter as long as it is obvious that progress is being made in the game plan and that they can hit the first Test running.

“This is where the Lions can have an advantage, because they can reach that first Test in better shape because of the time they will have spent together. It will probably be New Zealand’s first Test of their season, remember.

“It will be interesting to see which tactics Gatland uses because it was clear with Wales in New Zealand this summer that he was trying to get his players to play more with their heads up and play broken-field rugby, which they did well at times but not often enough with the requisite intensity.

“It does not have to be an all-court game, it just has to be a game where there is a total awareness and understanding of what is happening at almost every second of the game. Because that is where New Zealand beat everybody at the moment: with their collective awareness of roles, outcomes and consequences of getting their game right.

“Let’s ditch the negativity now. A Lions season is truly special. Let’s embrace it and enjoy it.”